Don't be a Hero!
by Iris
Summary: A take on how Vegeta & Bulma first got together.


**Don't Be A Hero**

Bulma threw the teddy bear, which Yamucha gave her on her last birthday, at the door after it slammed shut. Tears rolling down her face. She looked sad, but did not cry out loud. She and Yamucha had just argued... again. This time over his staying out too late. All the time that she was with him, she always thought he was the one who would make her happy, the one that would give her the respect she deserved, the one who would be there when she needed. But, clearly she was wrong. This whole week they had been arguing about his over-flirtation with every girl he saw. She wasn't jealous, she just needed him to give her some respect when they were in public together as a couple.

Yamucha left after they argued - like usual. He was still young at heart and wasn't ready to settle down just yet. He never paid close attention to how Bulma really felt about him, about them together. He, like all other young men growing up, thought she would get over it sooner or later. He never thought it was a big deal to go out and have some fun with other girls. Soon after he was out of the house, he was a carefree guy, acting as if nothing had happened.  
  
Bulma stared blankly at the closed door, recalling all the good times she and Yamucha had together. Where did she go wrong? How could she not keep him? She slowly and involuntarily sat down against the wall. She had never felt so empty. All the memories with Yamucha slowly turned blurry as she shed another tear. The memories made her feel as if they were all a dream. She knew, somehow, they were all she had of them together, no new memories would be created from this moment on. It would be hard for her if she decided to forget him.  
  
Just that moment, in the training chamber next to the Capsule Corp. residence, Vegeta was still training himself. He had heard the tune Bulma and Yamucha played many times. Every time it started out with things being thrown around and ended with the door slamming and then silence followed. He was irritated by their act from the beginning for it disturbed his concentration. And he sure felt uneasy tonight by the same play. But the feeling wasn't the irritation he had always had, it was rather the empathy he felt for Bulma. How could she not see that Yamucha would not change any time soon? How could she not know he (Yamucha) wasn't ready to give up what he was getting? How could she be so naïve… and patient with such a loser? Thinking that, he did not want to go on with the training. He often thought to himself that if Bulma found herself a hobby and spent all her time with it, she wouldn't be so upset and "he" could have some peace and quiet. Then he snapped out of it.  
  
_"What the hell am I doing? What do these humans have on me? I begin to be like them! Hmph! I don't like it!" _He thought to himself, not liking the fact that he was thinking about them... about her. He forced himself to stop and then went on with the training.  
  
It had been more than a year since he started training in this gravity chamber. Although he did get much stronger, he still wasn't satisfied. As he was trying to withstand the force in the chamber, which he had increased the gravity to 1000X, he heard a knock on the door. He stopped and knelt down, trying to catch his breath. The knocking was heard again.  
  
_" Nani ga hosii?! What do you want?!"_ He finally responded.  
  
_" It's me, Bulma. Your dinner's ready."_  
  
Bulma answered, her voice sounded sad. She sounded like she no longer cared for anything. Usually, Vegeta would say that he wasn't hungry and tell her to leave him alone. But tonight, he opened the door. Bulma was surprised at first, but then she was back to the old mood as if she remembered she was supposed to be sad. Not waiting for him to say anything else, she said:  
  
_" You should stop and eat first before you get too tired."_  
  
Again, as usual, he would clarify to her that Saiyajins never got tired, at least not him. But instead, he said:  
  
_" Thank you. Just leave it there."_  
  
Bulma was surprised once again, but she did what he said and turned to walk back to the house.  
  
_"Bulma..."_  
  
She heard a soft call. She turned and saw Vegeta still standing at the unclosed door. She didn't know what to say.  
  
_" You should find a new hobby."_  
  
She slightly raised her brows, her face showed a blank look. She didn't know what he meant, and then she thought of Yamucha and guessed what he was referring to:  
  
_" Thanks for your concern. But I just don't feel enthusiastic enough." _ She told him, not seeming to take his suggestion into consideration.  
  
He didn't like what he heard. She could at least **try**! Besides, he didn't say it because he was concerned for her. He just couldn't stand seeing her like that. It annoyed him and he vowed to stop it any way he could. However, he could understand why she was like that... human women were like that - when they didn't get what they wanted, they'd moan... like she did now. He figured he should just leave her alone to do whatever she wanted. So he turned and walked back to the gravity chamber and closed the door.

He looked at the food that was left on the floor. He wasn't hungry. He stared at it for a few seconds. It didn't look too tasty. In fact, he often thought that Bulma ought to take cooking lessons. He'd teach her how if possible. He just couldn't swallow what she prepared. Once, he had thought that maybe Yamucha became like that because of her cooking.

He knelt down and took the piece of steak with a fork. He took a bite and as usual, struggled piercing through it.

_"Hmm..."_ he grinned and put it back on the plate. He looked at the closed door, as to check if she were still there. Then he heard a knock on the door. First, he hesitated, but then he stood up, walked toward the door and opened it. Just as he suspected, she came back.  
  
_" What now?"_ He asked, wanting her to make up her mind.  
  
Ignoring his rudeness, she asked:  
  
_" Can I talk to you?"_ Her voice soft and still sounding sad.  
  
_"But we have nothing to talk about," _he said.

_"You don't have to respond, just listen."_

Vegeta paused for a moment then responded with an expression:

_"Hmm..."_ meaning _"Ok."_  
  
He stood there, expecting her to speak what was on her mind. But instead, she asked him:  
  
_"Can you go outside? I need some fresh air."_  
  
He grabbed the shirt on the chair and put it on. And for the first time in his life, Prince Vegeta did what someone else asked. He closed the door and followed her outside. They walked slowly in the Capsule Corp. garden. She was talking... about nothing in particular. With his hands in his trousers' pockets, he kept walking, leaving her to say whatever she wanted. Once in a while, he grinned his teeth because of what she said – most of the time, not so pleasing to his ears. They stopped in front of the pond in the garden.  
  
_" Here. I always come here when I don't feel so great."_ She said, not really caring if he wanted to know or not. In fact, she had been there all week because she and Yamucha had been constantly arguing. But Vegeta wouldn't know that, she could be there all day and night for all he cared.

He just stood there, looking down at the pond, his arms now folded in front of his chest. He didn't seem to focus on anything. He snapped out of it when he heard Bulma's voice.  
  
_" So why did you suddenly come out here with me?"_ She asked curiously.  
  
He was jaded by her question. He hated when she acted that way - asking stupid questions. Didn't * she* ask him to come out here with her?  
  
_" You don't have to know why!"_ He snapped. _"Sometimes just being out in the air makes you feel better."_ He continued bluntly, still, his eyes were not targeted anywhere especially. Looking at him after he spoke, Bulma said:  
  
_" You know, Vegeta. You're not as cold and inconsiderate as you look. In fact, you're a pretty reliable guy."_  
  
She lowered herself to pick up a small rock and threw it into the pond. Vegeta didn't really like what he just heard, but he didn't hate it either.  
  
They were out there for more than an hour. They were silent most of the time. There was nothing they could talk about, at least not to each other. The only thing they seemed to have in common was having nothing to say to one another. But, like he said, just being out in the air made them feel better.

***

Bulma felt like her old self again after the night in the garden with Vegeta. She appeared to be less upset with Yamucha, not that she finally got over his acts, but she listened to Vegeta and had found herself a project to do. One night, as she was finishing up putting a robot together, Yamucha went into the closet choosing his wardrobe for the night out, he told her he was going out for dancing.  
  
_" Have a good time."_ She said as she screwed in and tightened the last bolt on the robot.  
  
He was surprised at her reaction because normally, they would be arguing for almost an hour before he slammed the door and left whether she liked it or not.  
  
_" Huh? What did you just say, Bulma?"_ He asked as if he wasn't sure he heard her correctly.  
  
_" I said 'have a good time.'"_ Bulma repeated, meaning what she said. Her face didn't show any sign of anger or being upset.  
  
_" Oh... Okie-dokie! Bye-ee!"_ He said, smiling happily like a child who, after asking for permission, was allowed to go outside and play. Then he went to the bathroom to blow dry his hair and get ready.  
  
Bulma put away the robot she had finished putting together. She looked at her watch and realized it was time to bring Vegeta his dinner. She went into the kitchen and quickly prepared the same meal for him. She brought it to the gravity chamber and knocked on the door. He opened the door without asking who it was or making any remarks like usual. When he saw Bulma with the dinner plate, he smirked - not at her - and implied her not to bring him "her" prepared dinner anymore, then he walked back in. Bulma watched as he stood in front of the closet and she angrily inquired:  
  
_" Just exactly what you meant by **my** prepared dinner? Well, excuuuse me, Mr. 'Prince of Vegeta-sei!' Just when do I see ** you** do any cooking around here?"_  
  
Vegeta knew it was useless to say anything to her right now so he just ignored her. He figured he could read her like a book and this time, he knew exactly what she'd do or say next. Bulma walked in anyway, without him inviting her. Still angry at him, she placed the dinner on the table, bringing her hands to her hips and said:  
  
_" Without Bulma, everybody would starve around here. I'd like to see **you** try cooking for once!"_  
  
Yep! Just exactly as he had suspected. How did he do it? Was she that predictable? To him, it seemed so. With his back facing her, he wryly smiled, knowing he was always right about her. But still, he didn't speak a word. This bothered Bulma a great deal. She hated him for doing that to her, and he did that **all** the time! She brought her arms up and folded them in front of her chest, her brows came together. She looked at him, she noticed that he was wearing the pink shirt she got him for Christmas just 6 months ago. The shirt had the word "BadMan" on its back side. She only saw him wear it once before. She stood there waiting for him to reply, but all he gave her was silence. She was annoyed by it at first, but the aggravation disappeared as she checked him out. She did think he was a handsome man and no doubt his muscular body would have melt any girl's heart. However, his attitude had got to mellow down. She just couldn't stand it. He was so rude and insensitive most of the time. If he kept it up, he'd be lonely forever. She was the nicest and most refined girl he could ever know, so she thought. Then suddenly, he turned around and said:  
  
_" Perhaps I should after all. Maybe you should watch and learn too."_ That devious smile hadn't left his face yet.  
  
Bulma was confounded at first, but then she remembered and realized he was referring to her cooking. This enraged her once again.  
  
_" You just think you are the best in everything, don't you?"_ She snapped at him.  
  
_" How did you know that? Am I that transparent?"_ He asked, pulling out some clothes on the rack from the closet. Bulma was furious at his reply. She uncrossed her arms and directed at him angrily:  
  
_" I hope you're satisfied insulting me, if that's what you were doing!"_  
  
Vegeta turned and looked at her. He stopped what he was doing and sighed:  
  
_" Don't get mad just yet!"_ He bent down and picked up the pile of clothes he had pulled out from the closet and put them in a basket. He brought the basket full of clothes to where she stood, put it down, and said:  
  
_" I still need you to do my laundry."_  
  
She looked at him in abhorrence and feeling nauseated, she yelled at him:  
  
_" What do you think I am? Your maid? Don't think you can pick on me that easily! I'm not gonn-"_  
  
_" I meant to ask you in a nice way, ...Bulma-san."_ He sighed, knowing beforehand how she'd react. _"You're best at doing laundry. Okay now... did I say it right? Or I shouldn't have said it at all?"_ He inquired, trying to calm her down. But that didn't turn out right for her. However, she knew if she was to get angry at him again, he wouldn't get it right anyway. She lowered her eyelids, as if naturally reacting to a dummy's remarks, she bent down and took the basket and left the chamber.  
  
At the club, Yamucha couldn't help but thought about Bulma's sudden change of mood. Had she met someone else? Did she fall in love with a new man and forgot him already? He had seen her standing by the pond with Vegeta one night, but didn't give it much thought, except that it was good that Vegeta took a break, he [Vegeta] needed to interact more with others. He realized he hadn't been dancing at all yet. He didn't feel like dancing that night; not that he felt sad or upset seeing Vegeta with Bulma the other night -- they weren't doing anything anyway - but rather, he felt guilty about ignoring and not taking Bulma's seriously lately. He realized he might have hurt her feelings somehow.

***

A week passed by and the atmosphere at the Capsule Corp. residence wasn't as [tensed] as usual. Vegeta was still nearly killing himself with the increasing gravity in the training chamber, Yamucha was still the party animal and was out late almost every night, and Bulma... after she had finished two projects, she didn't feel like finding another one to work with. She could feel the old mood start to regenerate and things between her and Yamucha hadn't gotten any better. She still spent time [alone] by the pond in the backyard. Yamucha saw her there a few times, but didn't think anything was wrong. One evening, like always, Yamucha was out partying, Bulma wandered her way slowly to the pond, and to her surprise, Vegeta was standing there.  
  
_"Vegeta?"_ She stopped abruptly.  
  
He didn't answer nor turned around. He knew it was her. Bulma walked closer to him.  
  
_" How come you're not training?"_ She was curious.  
  
With his hands folded, he stood idly. Then suddenly, his body flared up and was shielded by a golden glow. His hair became stiff and colored like the flame. Every muscle on his body indicated how much stronger he had become. Then she finally understood it. Vegeta had reached his** _Super Saiyan_** stage... like Goku and the young man with lavender hair they met last year.  
  
_" You like to ask **a lot** of questions, don't you?!"_ He asked, annoyed by her. Then the glow disappeared and his hair returned to the normal jet black color.  
  
_"Ohh... so you've reached the 'Super Saiyan' level. That's great, Vegeta! Now we're ready to fight the jinzoningen!"_ Bulma said enthusiastically, forgetting for awhile why she went out there.  
  
_" Those machines, I can smash them into a bunch of useless metal pieces. It's Kakarotto that I want to see now!"_ He said, clearly showing his desire for a battle with his true enemy.  
  
Bulma curiously asked him why he hated Goku so much. He turned to her and grunted:  
  
_" Why are you so nosy?!"_  
  
_" ......?!"_  
  
_" Between he and I, at least one lives and one dies. There must only be one great warrior, and it will be me!_  
  
_" Hmm..."_ Bulma knew he'd say something like that. _"But what had he done to you? We need him to fight those machines and the rest of evil people in this world-" _ She defended Goku.  
  
_" I can defeat those stupid machines myself! There's no need for anyone else to turn them back into nuts and bolts again. Why are you people praising that Kakarotto so highly anyway?!"_ He was agitated by her statement.  
  
_"Alright! Sheesh... you don't have to be so excited about it."_ She said, feeling irritated herself.  
  
_" So why did **you** come out here? Your loverboy is out, leaving you at home by yourself again?"_ He asked, bringing her back to reality. Obviously he didn't know or pay attention to what was around him this past week.  
  
_" Why would you care?"_ She snapped.  
  
_" I don't. It was just the right thing to ask."_ Then not waiting for her to say anything, he continued:  
  
_" I thought you're over that Yamucha already? You're better off without him anyway."_  
  
The whole thing came back to her again after Vegeta brought it up. She had been thinking about Yamucha and couldn't seem to forget him yet. How could she?! He was her first love. She suddenly couldn't hold her tears. She had finally accepted the fact that what Vegeta had just said was true. But getting over Yamucha took time. She knew in her heart now that she and Yamucha weren't going to make it after all. All the dreams she had of them together had shattered into a thousand pieces and she didn't know how to put them back together again. She sobbed quietly. Vegeta walked closer to her, not realizing she was crying.  
  
_" Are you okay?"_ He asked, but not showing any concern in his voice.  
  
_"Bulma!"_ He called again when there was no answer. Bulma turned to him in responding to his calling. Vegeta was startled when he saw a tear roll down her cheek. He just wasn't used to seeing tears like that, not on a woman's face, not in situations like this. He didn't know what to do next. Normally, when he thought about it, it would drive him insane and he would stay as far away as possible. But now, he did not go away, he was still standing motionless next to her. Inside, he really wanted to do or say something to make her stop. But what?! He stared at her, his mouth open, but no words came out. He lifted his hand up, wanting to tell her to shut up, but... no... he couldn't, knowing her, she'd just get more upset. Maybe he should tell her that everything was going to be okay in a nice, caring way, but his mouth was dry and his jaws locked when he thought about it; he just couldn't do such a thing! He had never experienced anything like this in his entire life and now wasn't about to. It wasn't right for him, for the one who was the Great Prince of Vegeta-sei. No. It wasn't him.

Stranded in his thought, Vegeta stood speechlessly. Bulma finally spoke as she wiped her own tears away:  
  
_" Why are men like that?"_ Referring to Yamucha.  
  
_"I'm sure not all men are like that."_ He finally made it out of the psychological maze, but did not mean to include himself.  
  
Bulma started to walk toward the front gate, but Vegeta stopped her:  
  
_" It's not gonna do you any good. It won't make the situation any better."_ He said as if knowing exactly what she was doing.  
  
_" I have to see and talk to him about this. I can't stand it anymore. Either I straighten things out with him, or I'll go crazy just thinking about it."_ She replied and was determined to do what she planned.  
  
_" So you're not as strong as you make others think you are. You're still not over him yet, I see. All those nights I gave up training, I suppose have gone to waste? Why is it so complicated to you humans?"_ He mischievously smiled and mocked her.  
  
_"Damn it, Vegeta! How can you joke at a time like this?! Humans have feelings, unlike you Saiyans!"_ Bulma thought to herself, angry at him for his remarks. But she didn't blurt a word, instead she started walking toward the gate again. Just then, he grabbed her hand:  
  
_" He's not going to listen to you at this hour. He's having too much fun to even care. I'm not saying you shouldn't talk to him, but you should wait 'til tomorrow, or when he's not busy with his social life."_  
  
Bulma stopped. She looked at him, then down at her arm where he grabbed, and back at him. He suddenly became nervous for having done that. Bulma just wanted to run as far away from him as possible. Why did she even consider talking to him about this in the first place? What did he know about love and heartbreaks? He wasn't even human for Kami's sake! Arrrrrgh!!! Then she blurted:  
  
_" How can you just stand there and say that?! Why do I even bother talking to you? What do you know about feelings anyway!? Just try being a woman for a day and see if you can take it easily!"_  
  
He groaned, his brows came together. Try being a woman?! He would rather lose to Kakarotto! But realizing it was impossible to say anything that wouldn't get on her nerves, he kept quiet. Seeing that he hadn't said anything else to upset her, Bulma looked directly at him - just to check if he really meant to stop insulting her.

To her surprise, he was looking at her, not in an annoying way like he usually did, but it was kind of a caring way. It was the first time ever that he looked at her, at anyone, that way. A tear escaped from the corner of her eyes again, rolling down along her cheek. Vegeta nervously held her hand and slowly pulled her closer. He thought maybe that was what she needed for the moment. She did not hesitate as she buried her face against his muscular chest, sobbing. Then... she could feel his big, strong arms around her.  
  
Vegeta's mind blacked out as he realized what he was doing. He couldn't believe he was doing this. At first, his pride did not allow him to do it - holding her. The Prince of Vegeta-sei wasn't going to fall for just anybody! He was a warrior, a destroyer, a hero of his planet. But not a lover. He had no time for love... Love was only for humans, for the weak and sensitive Earthlings, not for someone who had a mission to conquer planets on his mind! But... why hadn't he resisted her yet? Why hadn't he let go off of her and defended his pride?  
  
A cool wind blew through her hair, brushing it against his bare arms. Dead leaves dropped from the trees, touching the ground and flew across the Capsule Corp. garden. It must be really late now, but "her hero", as she once considered Yamucha to be, was still having fun somewhere. It didn't matter anymore because the girl who was in love with him had finally found new strong arms for her to be wrapped around.

**The End**


End file.
